It’s difficult to make Christmas feel like Christmas in Jakarta. I imagine people who grew up in Hawaii wouldn’t notice a difference, but for those of us who grew up in the Midwest, or even in Arizona, Christmas here is very different. The malls still decorate with big trees, have carolers singing, and some even have snow fall from the ceiling, but the city doesn’t feel Christmas like cities do in the US. That doesn’t stop us from trying, though.
This year, Santa decided to introduce our family to his “Elf on a Shelf” program. With this program, he assigns an elf to each child in the family (except the babies) and the elf watches them all day and reports back to him each night. The elf arrives while you are sleeping, finds an observation point for the day, and changes location each day. You are required to name your elf, and you may talk to him or her, but touching is absolutely forbidden and could result in the forfeiture of all of your presents. It is important the elf does not see you misbehaving and deliver a bad report. And they move every day because half the fun is trying to find their new hiding spot!
Our kids must have been really good because Santa brought some cool new toys. The toy kitchen I’m sure required several hours of hard work with inferior tools and misleading directions to assemble. I’m not sure Santa was thinking of the parents when he gave our toddler a toy drum, but it has turned out okay nonetheless. Gifts from family were overwhelming for everyone, but, thankfully, they all arrived on time (at least from those who sent them on time).
We continued our tradition of hot chocolate and cinnamon toast for breakfast, and the kids enjoyed playing with their new toys all morning….then got bored with them, as they are wont to do. Mom and dad got cool gifts, too. I got a pogo stick and enough books to keep me occupied through February (finished half already), and my wife received I Love Lucy DVDs and the electronics I mentioned in our Singapore post. Santa had a few choice consumables for us in our stockings, too, but our kids ended up eating most of them.
The hardest part about Christmas in Jakarta is being away from the rituals, the culture, and the company of family. Exchanging gifts via DHL is not the same as playing the Gift Trade game where we steal and exchange gifts in a free-for-all fight of luck, timing and team strategy….ahhh, good times. Saying thank-you in person is always better than sending a note….requires less effort! And I hate not being able to veg-out in front of the TV watching football. Holidays are just not the same without watching grown men maul each other in the hopes of holding up a trophy at the end of the year.
But mankind is nothing if not adaptable, and we adapted to Christmas in Jakarta….so long as there isn’t another one.
This year, Santa decided to introduce our family to his “Elf on a Shelf” program. With this program, he assigns an elf to each child in the family (except the babies) and the elf watches them all day and reports back to him each night. The elf arrives while you are sleeping, finds an observation point for the day, and changes location each day. You are required to name your elf, and you may talk to him or her, but touching is absolutely forbidden and could result in the forfeiture of all of your presents. It is important the elf does not see you misbehaving and deliver a bad report. And they move every day because half the fun is trying to find their new hiding spot!
Our kids must have been really good because Santa brought some cool new toys. The toy kitchen I’m sure required several hours of hard work with inferior tools and misleading directions to assemble. I’m not sure Santa was thinking of the parents when he gave our toddler a toy drum, but it has turned out okay nonetheless. Gifts from family were overwhelming for everyone, but, thankfully, they all arrived on time (at least from those who sent them on time).
We continued our tradition of hot chocolate and cinnamon toast for breakfast, and the kids enjoyed playing with their new toys all morning….then got bored with them, as they are wont to do. Mom and dad got cool gifts, too. I got a pogo stick and enough books to keep me occupied through February (finished half already), and my wife received I Love Lucy DVDs and the electronics I mentioned in our Singapore post. Santa had a few choice consumables for us in our stockings, too, but our kids ended up eating most of them.
The hardest part about Christmas in Jakarta is being away from the rituals, the culture, and the company of family. Exchanging gifts via DHL is not the same as playing the Gift Trade game where we steal and exchange gifts in a free-for-all fight of luck, timing and team strategy….ahhh, good times. Saying thank-you in person is always better than sending a note….requires less effort! And I hate not being able to veg-out in front of the TV watching football. Holidays are just not the same without watching grown men maul each other in the hopes of holding up a trophy at the end of the year.
But mankind is nothing if not adaptable, and we adapted to Christmas in Jakarta….so long as there isn’t another one.
Posts
1 comment:
Hi! We live in Jakarta as well and wondering where we could buy the Elf on the shelf kit here? Would really appreciate if you could let me know where you "adopted" the Elf from! Thanks
Post a Comment